SOUNDSCAPE

A 'soundscape' is an acoustic environment or an environment created by sound.
As such, it refers in the first place to the natural acoustic environment, consisting of the sounds of the forces of nature and animals, including humans. This is the domain of acoustic design (R. Murray Schafer).

Contents

Elements

See also

Software

Further reading

References

External links

Samples and stores

Elements

There are different elements of the soundscape such as keynote sounds, sound signals, and soundmarks.
Keynote Sounds: This is a musical term that identifies the key of a piece, not always audible… the key might stray from the original, but it will return. The keynote sounds may not always be heard consciously, but they “outline the character of the people living there” (Schafer). They are created by nature (geography and climate): wind, water, forests, plains, birds, insects, animals. In many urban areas, traffic has become the keynote sound.
Sound Signals: These are foreground sounds, which are listened to consciously. Ex: warning devices, bells, whistles, horns, sirens, etc.
Soundmark: This is derived from the term landmark. A soundmark is a sound which is unique to an area. “Once a Soundmark has been identified, it deserves to be protected, for soundmarks make the acoustic life of a community unique” (Schafer).
Soundscapes are often combined with the performance of music.
A 'soundscape composition' is an electroacoustic musical composition creating a sound portrait of a sound environment. Composers who use soundscapes include real-time granular synthesis pioneer Barry Truax and Luc Ferrari, whose ''Presque rien, numéro 1'' (1970) is an early soundscape composition. (Roads 2001, p.312)
Soundscapes from a computerized acoustic device with a camera may also offer synthetic vision to the blind, as is the goal of the seeingwithsound project.

See also

★ Field recording

★ Soundscape - A progressive metal band in Chennai, India

Software

★ fLOW ambient soundscape generator (Apple Macintosh)

★ TAPESTREA a framework for sound design and soundscape composition

Further reading

★ 1977 ''The Soundscape'' - R. Murray Schafer (ISBN 0-89281-455-1)

★ 1977 ''The Tuning of the World'' - R. Murray Schafer (ISBN 0-8122-1109-X)

★ 1977 ''Five village soundscapes (Music of the environment series)'' - A.R.C. Publications (ISBN 0-88985-005-4)

★ 1978 ''Handbook for Acoustic Ecology'' - Barry Truax (ISBN 0-88985-011-9)

★ 1985 ''Acoustic Communication : Second Edition'' - Barry Truax & World Soundscape Project (ISBN 1-56750-537-6

★ 2002 ''Wild Soundscapes: Discovering the Voice of the Natural World'' - Bernard L. Krause (ISBN 0-89997-296-9) - book & CD

★ 2004 ''The Auditory Culture Reader (Sensory Formations)'' - Michael Bull (ISBN 1-85973-618-1)

References

★ Roads, Curtis (2001). Microsound. Cambridge: MIT Press. ISBN 0-262-18215-7.

External links

★ Soundscape artists

★ Wildlife Sound Recording Society

★ Tones and noises: three kinds of soundscape, one music

★ World Forum for Acoustic Ecology

★ World Soundscape Project

★ The Acoustic Technology Institute

★ Camera-Based Soundscapes for the Blind

★ Acoustic Environments in Change

★ One Man's Noise a CBC Ideas show about soundscapes

★ Soundscape artist links at Quiet American

★ Do-It-Yourself field recording advice, also at Quiet American

Samples and stores

★ field recording repository at the Phonography Archive

★ Far Afield: A Webbed Hand Compilation a 2-CD compilation available from the Internet Archive

★ Quiet American field recordings

★ One-minute field recording weekly podcast with archive

★ tram-n-bus - urban transport field recordings

★ Earthear.com largest selection of albums for sale

★ Wildsanctuary.com albums for sale

★ Cape Cod, MA Soundscapes including a podcast

★ Gruenrekorder :: Platform for AudioArt

★ Archivosonoro Field recordings repository and other audio archives

★ [1] A soundscape to explore of a London Park

★ Acusmart notes on soundscape and phonography archive